This proposal seeks funding for Dr. Marshall, an established investigator of employment and health among women and men ages 25 - 50, to enable Dr. Marshall to enter a new, high priority area -- work and older workers. The proposed project will: [1] identify datasets that can be used to address research questions about employment, work conditions and health of older workers; [2] explore the usefulness of existing datasets for specific secondary analyses; [3] use data from the Health & Retirement Study (HRS), and structural equation modeling, to test the reciprocal effects of health and work among older workers; and [4] design an R01 to examine these and other important questions about work and older workers. The proposed project is a pilot study for a larger research program which will potentially advance scientific knowledge about [a] the reciprocal effects of health and work; [b] the conditions under which employment has positive and negative effects on older workers' health and functioning; [c] possible mechanisms by which employment is associated with health; and [d] the relative importance of employment and other forms of productive and reproductive activity as factors in older workers' health. The knowledge gained from such a study would inform policies and practices designed to improve working conditions, productivity and well-being among older workers.